The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1887-11-21
THE coLoRgp FOLKS BALL,
Two Distinct Glasses of COlOred People in
the City of New York.

Two Distinct Glasses of CoIOred People In
the City of New York.
[''F1aneur's" New York letter.
The series Of balls which have been given
during the past week in the Madison Square
garden have been immensely amusing, both
In their novelty and the keen enjoyment OF
the people who participated in them. The
Plumbers association, Retail Grocers' asso-
citation, the Engineers, and last, but not
least, big ball given by the proprietors and
editors of journals for the benefit of the col
ored people, served to make the week at the
Madison Square garden one of festivity and
joy.
There were nearly 1000 negroes in the
garden by 9 o'clock, and they had sand
wiches lager beer, ice cream kronk beer,
apple pie, cranberry tartS, red herrngS, ana
cigars in profusion Negroes dance naturally,
it comes as easy to them singing, and L
have seldom seen any mora graceful waltz
ing than that of some OF the handsomely
dressed men and women from the uptown
colony of negroes of n wv York. There are
two distinct classes OF our colored popula-
ton. The common" negroes, as they are
called, by which is meant the hard workers,
unpretentious dresserS, aul poverty-stricken
members of their race, live in the vicinity
of Prince Sullivan. Thompson, and Houston
streets in a neighb ,rhood which is nearly
two miles below the fashionable dwelling
house district. The well-to-do. highly re
srectabIe, dandyfied, and pretentious colored
people, however, nearly all belong to an up
town colony which is in the vicinity of
Twenty street.
Sixth avenue is the night promenade for
these negroes, and some of them live in a
style VIII .ch is rather astonishing to people
out of town. Many of the colored porters,
ianitors and reStaurant-keeperS IN lower
New York have an income as high as $4,000,
and they live in flats and apartments, with
their own servants, and bring up their
children at the public schools with all the
advantages of public education. There are
colored women in this district, and hun
dreds of them at that, who are
thoroughly educated dress quietly and
in perfect taste, and talk quite a.
well as many of their white sisters
know what am talking about in this
case, because | made an extensive tour once
among these people, in company with de-
tective The residents of this section are
the dandy niggers," as they are callel,
slim, graceful and swinging young bucks,
who may be seen parading on Fifth avenue
Sunday afternoons They are Wallets, wait
ers, buffers, clerks and light pOrters, and
every penny they earn goes on their backs.
They have no end of clothes, and are given
to appearing in the most startling contrasts.
Their affections are conferred particularly
in over-gaiters, which they wear in all col
ors, from bright green to dark maroon. In
the matter of attire they are uncOmmonly
gorgeous at their ball at Madison Square
| garden. And they danced till the early
hourS of the morning with the utmost de-
| light Hundreds of them came to the ball
! in carriages, and quite a number Of them
were in dress suits.